Unexpected Comfort
by YouThinkYouNoeMe
Summary: After the horrifying experiences of Wrestlemania XX, two people find comfort in each other... CharactersxPairing: Chris JerichoxMolly Holly


Title: Unexpected Comfort

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters belong to WWE and themselves

Characters/Pairings: Jericho/Molly

Spoilers: Wrestlemania XX, Raw 3/15/04

He was leaving again. For the second night in a row, he found himself storming out of the arena directly following his match. He couldn't bear to stick around, knowing that if he did, he would have to see them. Trish and Christian - his former best friend and the so called woman of his dreams - would no doubt have some display to put on for him. They would undoubtedly be all over each other, and after the past 24 hours the idea of losing his lunch wasn't all that appealing to Chris Jericho. He would never grant them the satisfaction of knowing what they had done to him, of letting them see that they were slowly and painfully creeping under his skin. Then again, they probably already knew. The look on his face the night before at Wrestlemania, when those two stabbed him in the back, was telling enough. They knew what they were doing, how their actions were just eating at him internally... and they liked it. Those no good, pathetic excuses for human beings enjoyed make him suffer, watching his heart crumble into pieces.

If there was anything Chris regretted - more than allowing himself to fall for Trish, that is - it was that he didn't see it coming. He should have seen it, should have known that Christian would manage to get into her head and change her, and that all he would need was the few weeks he was out nursing his knee injury. Somehow, he was always able to twist people's minds, to influence them into thinking and acting the way *he* did. Hell, that was one of the reasons Chris had become such good friends with him in the first place. You hung around Christian long enough, and it was a safe guarantee that the creepy little bastard would get inside your mind and subliminally play with your head.

As Chris pushed himself on down the hall, he happened to pass by the women's locker room. Finding himself unable to resist tossing a glance into the room, Chris peered in, his gaze fixing on the lone woman inside. His forehead wrinkled curiously as he watched her adjust the blonde hair resting on top of her head, holding it securely as she intently watched the TV screen in front of her. Chris frowned as he watched Molly pick up the remote next to her and press rewind, backing the tape up a minute or so before again pressing play. There was an odd, tightening sensation in his chest as she slumped back in her seat, shaking her head as clips of Victoria mercilessly shaving her head played on the screen. While Chris was most certainly heartbroken and humiliated by the events that had transpired at Wrestlemania XX, he could only iimagine/i how Molly must have felt. 

Then, acting purely on impulse, the blonde man stepped into the room, remaining silent for a moment. He took a few more steps in the direction of the solemn diva, swallowing hard as he studied her form from behind.

"You know, watching that clip over and over again isn't going to make your hair grow back," he blurted out, the sound of his voice in the otherwise silent room startling her a bit. Molly jumped, turning swiftly in her chair, a look of shock intermingling with a scowl as she glared at him.

"Running out of the building the second your match ends to avoid those who've betrayed you won't make them go away either," she quipped bitterly. 

Chris sighed, regretfully noting how harsh he came across with his comment, instantly feeling guilty for being so blunt. He approached her slowly, taking long, tentative steps. Molly studied his face wonderingly, unsure of what to do as he grabbed a chair and sat down next to her. Biting her lip gently, her gaze softened a bit as she considered how Jericho must have been feeling. After being two-timed by Trish Stratus, she couldn't blame him for being miserable.

"I guess neither one of us are very happy campers these days," Jericho spoke suddenly, breaking the silence.

A short, rueful laugh escaped Molly's lips as she shifted slightly in her seat. She cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah, well, at least your humiliation can be kept on the inside..." she began. "Not only am I forced to wear this ridiculous wig with this silly little chin strap, I have to worry about it getting pulled off!"

Chris's frown deepened as he glanced over to see Molly uncomfortably playing around with the strap holding the wig atop her head. He couldn't begin to imagine the embarrassment, the sheer humiliation she must be going through. Once again acting before thinking, Chris reached out to her, hesitantly placing his hand on her arm, only to quickly pull it away when her head snapped and her eyes locked on his hand.

"I'm really sorry you have to go through that, Molly. It's not right," he said truthfully. The young woman shrugged.

"I signed the match. I knew the stipulations beforehand," she pointed out, trying her best to sound sportsmanlike when in reality she'd wanted to go right to Stone Cold Steve Austin and rip his head off for even suggesting such a stipulation.

"That doesn't make it right. Steve Austin may have thought he was being clever or funny in making you agree to shave your head if you lost, but in reality all he accomplished was to make a mockery of you, and the entire women's division while he was at it. You didn't deserve that, Molly," Chris told her genuinely, shaking his head. A soft half smile played on her lips as she looked at him.

"Thank you, Chris. It's really nice to see that at least *somebody* feels the way I do. It just... it hurts, ya know? I'm trying my hardest not to let it show, but I'm really not enjoying that I've become the laughing stock of the entire company for the way I look," she said sadly, all signs of the grin fading away.

Molly looked over at Chris, her eyes locking with his. As she gazed into his intense blue orbs, her breath caught in her throat. What was it about him that was making her heart skip beats? The two had hardly been friends before...

"If it's any consolation, I still think you're beautiful."

His comment nearly brought a tear to Molly's eye. That had to be the sweetest thing any man had ever said to her, and whether he truly meant it or not was worthless in her mind. All that mattered was that he said it, and for that, she wanted to hug him or something. She had been feeling pretty down about herself, to say the very least, and a simple compliment like that did wonders for her self esteem.

"Chris... that's so sweet..." she began, a somewhat nervous sounding giggle accompanying her words.

Molly clamped her mouth shut, heat flushing to her cheeks as she felt them reddening at her girlish giggle. She didn't know why, but the strangest feeling began to flutter in the pit of her stomach, and her heart rate kicked up a notch. She looked up at Jericho, whose eyes were locked on her, studying her as though he didn't want to forget a fraction of her face. 

"It's true," Chris said after a moment's hesitance.

He placed his hand over his stomach, suddenly getting the strongest urge to kiss her. For whatever reason, even though he and Molly were what he considered familiar strangers, he felt connected to the young diva. Maybe it was because he was lonely, maybe it was because of the nature of their situations... whatever it was, he felt like he wanted to get to know her. Maybe he just did. The sensation telling him to kiss Molly left his stomach and worked its way up, nestling in his heart. He tried forcing it away, but then, a thought occurred to him...

Why not go for it?

Reaching his arm over to her, Chris placed his finger underneath Molly's chin. He gently slid it back, tucking it under the chinstrap to the long blonde wig on the diva's head. Molly jumped, grabbing his hand before he was able to pull on it.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, her stomach nearly doing a double flip. 

Chris shook his head, placing his free hand on top of hers. He gently pulled her hand away, using his other hand to slide the black strap out from under her chin. Molly's eyes widened in shock as she watched him pull the wig off and drop it carelessly to the ground. She wanted to make a dive for the hairpiece, but for some reason, she felt frozen, and she couldn't move at all. She simply sat there, staring at him, her mouth gaping open in shock.

"Just because you've lost your hair doesn't mean you've lost any of your beauty."

As if she wasn't already shocked beyond her wildest dreams, Chris did what Molly considered to be the unthinkable. He leaned forward in his seat, and he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly.

Instead of running away, or asking him why, Molly simply smiled. Chris Jericho had just kissed her, bald head and everything. The kiss was brief, but it was still a kiss, and it sent a shiver all the way down to the young woman's toes. She didn't feel the need to cover herself up, to conceal herself from me out of embarrassment. For the first time in awhile - even before Wrestlemania, and before getting her head shaved - she felt free. That simple little kiss released something in her, and even if nothing came of it, she was grateful.

"Thank you, Chris," she replied, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

Without saying another word, Molly stood, grabbing a hold of her wig and turning her back to him. Chris watched as she made her way to the door, wondering where she was going. He worried for a moment, but his fears flew out the window and a huge smile found a way to his face as Molly tossed the wig in the garbage can, smiling brightly at him as she turned back to him. She approached him, falling into his awaiting embrace. She wasn't sure how this was going to work, or how long it would last, but she didn't care. Sure, she didn't have beautiful dark hair like Victoria, or pretty blonde hair like Trish Stratus...

But what she had in Chris Jericho was worth more than either combined.


End file.
